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Painful Lessons
Razor Hills Fleet transforms into his Tetrajet mode. Catechism transforms to her jet mode, which is quite astoundingly simple for the coneheaded model that she is. Tetrajet lazily flies above the hills, enjoying the eerie howling of the wind over the razor edges. Though he's expecting a few arrivals, for the moment, he's taking advantage of the period of calm, twisting and turning in the updrafts. F-35B "Lightning II" has heeded the call because, well, she owes Fleet, and owing anyone anything is awkward and undesirable when one is a Decepticon. What makes matters worse is that this is only a drop in the bucket towards repaying that debt, and Catechism has a lot of buckets. She drops down out of orbit, glowing a dull hot red, and steam rises from her frame as she vectors after Fleet, nothing fancy, just simple - bang, she's here. As the howling wind rushes over her frame, she returns to her usual matte blue-grey and black. Cruising down from a low Cybertron orbit is none other than the scythe-winged spacefighter Redshift, approaching the Razor Hills at the appointed time. He careens towards the deadly terrain with fire and smoke issueing from his engines, eager for the lessons to begin, and for the contract to be fulfilled. His paint seems... Different, and as he approaches, it becomes clear Redshift has dressed for the occasion by having himself painted with a dazzling display of stars, shimmering and sparkling in the cool light reflecting from the planet. Carjack says, "Well I gotta at least distract him long enough to get some of the stuff!" Redshift says, "What stuff?" Carjack says, "We were stealing parts off vehicles in Las Vegas. Well, me and some gumbies, does that really count as 'we'? Y'know, so the materials can be *the hydrolic hiss of his weapon can be heard in the background* reforged into useful parts and stuff!" Catechism says, "Don't let him harpoon you through the head. He does that a lot." Tetrajet adjusts his flight path simply to allow for the new arrivals. "Ah, thanks for helping, Catechism," he calls her by way of greeting, then to Redshift, louder, he says, "Welcome, Redshift. Hmmm, interesting paint job, though should you ever decide to take up aerial dance formally, you may want to determine a signature look." Carjack says, "... You're sure this guy is an Autobot?" Catechism says, "Wreckers are... special. They'd almost be worthwhile, if only they'd renounce their Autobot kin." F-35B "Lightning II" mutters, "Don't mention it." Please, please, don't mention it. She flies just a finger-length from Fleet's wing, almost touching it with her own, and she looks at Redshift critically, finally concluding, "That's kinda... delicate-looking, isn't it? I mean, I guess it works with your build, but you wouldn't catch me /dead/ glittering." Red Spacecraft slows down considerably with the hiss of applied of retrorockets, and angles in to join Fleet's impromptu formation. "Stars seem appropriate enough. Besides, I don't plan on making a living by dancing... I plan to make a /killing/." He emits. No doubt his soon-to-be-acquirred skills will give him am impressive edge in the upcoming Olympics. "So, how do we begin?" He adds, ever eager to leap right into a situation. Carjack says nothing for the moment, but his sirens blare loudly instead. Catechism says, "Someone call the ambulance; there's gonna be an accident?" Tetrajet hmmms softly. "Well, obviously, we're informal. We have to be, since there's only three of us. So I suppose we can start with a quick drill of the basic moves and the tolerances, so you know how far off you can be before someone's firing at you." What's that in the background? The guitar cords that suggest power and flight and precision? Why, it sounds like someone's cueing up a training montage! Crude says, "Hahahaha, waste those Autobutts!" Carjack | A cowering gumbie murmurs, "I think he IS an ambulance or somethin'..." Carjack belts out "RESCUE TRUCK!" Carjack says, "I ain't no wussy ambulance" F-35B "Lightning II" remembers when Fleet taught her to dance. It was an informal thing, over several years and a lot of sessions, and a lot of it wasn't so much teaching as it was 'Fleet hauled her off because he needed another warm body', but she particularly recalls,, more recently, training with him on Charr and how she... crashed more times than she can remember. Her CPU is /still/ a bit scrambled from that. So as soon as there's the cue to transport, she applies aerobrakes hard and ratchets into robot mode, half-turned, in an aerial fighting stance. She asks casually, "So, how many times do you think Redshift's gonna wipe out?" XF-35B Astral Lightning transforms into robot form. Catechism's feet unfold, her arms unfold out of her body, her nosecone rotates through her body and ends up on her shoulders to expose her face, and her wings rotate into position. Red Spacecraft goes through one pre-flight test, his maneuvering thrusters and hidden movable flight surfaces each activated in turn, before the star-studded red racer flips up into his robot mode, as equally sparkly as his vehicle mode had been. "I don't intend to wipe out /at all/, Catechism," Redshift says with a slight sneer. To think an elite space warrior would perform so poorly is laughable! "Ready to follow your lead, Fleet. Don your worst! I can take whatever you can dish out." The sleek red spacecraft transforms into the winged warrior Redshift. Carjack somewhat distractedly, "We're gonna need a new... uh, don't even know if he had a name" Tetrajet considers, transforming as well. "An opening boast like that generally adds, oh, 15-20 wipe-outs to the overall total," he points out absently. "Now, let's start with the Inverted Core-Slammer," Fleet begins, as the camera cuts to jet(s - and perhaps a space ship) flying a tightly twisted mid-air manauver with a double-transformation at the peek of the curve, and then... camera cut again! ...cuts to Catechism back in her improbably space F-35 mode, just flipped up and back, just barely balancing with her nosecone in the air on her own thrust column, neither rising nor falling, a tricky feat in the howling winds. Then, as it seems the winds will win, she flips over, tumbling tail over nosecone. Catechism transforms to her jet mode, which is quite astoundingly simple for the coneheaded model that she is. Redshift struggles to maintain his posture in the high winds that cut through the canyons and among the razor-sharp hills. It's hard enough to maintain attitude control, let along emulate Fleet's moves! He had wondered why Fleet had chosen this loction, but it seems the yellow Seeker intends for Redshift to impale himself upon an outcrop! His broad wings catch a particularily vengeful gust catches him odd guard as he struggles to lift and climb while twisting, and the wind sends Redshift tumbling towards the jagged terrain below! Carjack cackles madly as electricity sparks... now if only it actually did something. Tetrajet chose this location because it's a popular performance location! Also, because he's an asshole. He stops his balancing manauver and transforms to watch Redshift fall towards the terrain. Then he calmly lifts an arm and fires at the spacer. Tetrajet transforms into his Fleet mode. Combat: Fleet misses Redshift with his Standard Laser - Low (Disruptor) attack! -1 F-35B "Lightning II" is also obligated to shoot at Redshift when he makes a mistake. If she does not, it will be considered a mistake on her part. If she takes the shot but botches her moves while making the shot, it will be considered a mistake on her part. Missing is okay, though - it shows that Redshift at least has his head in the game. So a quick transform later, her arm movements match Fleet's. XF-35B Astral Lightning transforms into robot form. Catechism's feet unfold, her arms unfold out of her body, her nosecone rotates through her body and ends up on her shoulders to expose her face, and her wings rotate into position. Combat: Catechism strikes Redshift with her Zap! (Disruptor) attack! Combat: You took 6 damage. Redshift might not be accustomed to trying to execute such fancy flying, but one thing he IS used to is being shot at. He sees the blast from the Seeker's arm laser coming for him, and quickly moves aside- Trying to use one of Fleet's fancy moves in the process! It seems to work well enough, but his concnetration of fleet leaves him open to friendly fire from Catechism as well, scoring a hit on his back and wing as he twirls away from the first laser blast. He grits his teeth, but doesn't shoot back, as much he mighty like to. "You never told me you were going to /shoot me/!" He complains. Military XO Impactor says, "This is Impactor to all available response units, we have a warehouse fire in Las Vegas." Redshift also comes fatefully lose to getting speared on a jagged outcrop, but is safe from perforation... for now. Fleet shrugs. "It's not my fault you never bothered to research what you were getting yourself into," he answers calmly, though he does allow a slight, approving smile as Redshift still manages to recover from the loss of control. Then he waves and transforms. "Now get up here and try that again." And then the scene cuts... Fleet transforms into his Tetrajet mode. Military XO Impactor says, "I repeat, high priority. Warehouse fire in Las Vegas, where are them bloomin' Protectobots when ya need 'em?" Kup says, "Damn hippies." Redshift's pockets area bit lighter after paying for all these damn sparkles, and all he has to show for it so far is laser burns. Fleet is correct, however; Redshift can hardly complain if he didn't bother to ask first. He continues to follow in Fleet's fancy footsteps, trying to watch both what Fleet's motions are, and watchng out for sudden bursts of wind. It all seems to be going well, until he applies too much thrust on one particular maneuver, and goes crashing towards FLEET, before he has a chance to cut back the power to his over-charged thrusters. Combat: Redshift strikes Tetrajet with his Fancy Footwork F*ckup (Ram) attack! -2 Combat: You took 1 damage from that attack. Catechism wouldn't have this stupid hobby if it didn't let her get violent, now and then. But in this cutscene, she is instead pulling off a Resplendent Supernova Death Strafe... as Redshift goes careening into Fleet. Looks like she is obligated to attack /both/ of them now. Whips are non-standard gear, but hey. if they work... this is Survivalist style, after all! Combat: Catechism misses Tetrajet with her Whiplash Whirlwind Area attack! -4 Combat: Catechism strikes Redshift with her Whiplash Whirlwind Area attack! -4 Combat: You took 7 damage. Sandstorm says, "... Boss, you didn't accidently start a place burnin' -again- did you?" Military XO Impactor says, "Last time wasn't -my- fault, so. No." Tetrajet does, indeed, deserve to be shot at because he fails to get out of Redshift's way, which is an error on his part. Still, he manages to recover enough to twist out of the way of Catechism's attack, transforming as he does. He fires up at Redshift, who has moved past him in the out of control careen. "Stop getting hit, Redshift. Getting hit is an error, and if you commit an error, you'll be fired on again." It's really kind of a rough cycle. Tetrajet transforms into his Fleet mode. Combat: Fleet misses Redshift with his Rough Cycle (Grab) attack! "I'm not TRYING to get hit!" Redshift snaps, as the elecrified whip crackles across his chest, ruining more of his fancy sparkle paint. He fires his bootjets to keep pace with Fleet, still tring his best to imitate Fleet's motions, while also struggling against the wild winds. And hoping Catechism will stop trying to murder him. Catechism is the lurking monster under the recharge berth, ready to murder poor little shifts at a moment's notice! She calls out, "Pain is a good teacher, even if you don't want him around!" Power chords play in the background, seguing into a wicked guitar riff, which means it is time for... Triple Plane Axial Corkscrew! Catechism transforms to her jet mode, which is quite astoundingly simple for the coneheaded model that she is. "Don't try not to get hit! Just don't get hit!" Fleet snaps back as he transforms, taking his part in the dramatic formation, passing by Catechism close enough that they *almost* scrape. And then... scene cut! Fleet transforms into his Tetrajet mode. Clutch says, "This is Clutch, I'm on my way...ETA 20 minutes." Carjack says, "When you said these Wreckers are tough, you weren't kidding." Fleet says, "Try dealing with two of them." Redshift, now in his spacecraft mode, joins Catechism in executing a tight aerial formation, his smaller frame giving him an edge when it comes to tight quarters formations. He tris to follow Fleet advice, and stops worrying about getting hit or not- Insyead, he does his best to follow the formation, turning and twisting his wings in ways they were never designed to fly, forgetting about 'being hit' and just trying to execute the moves as intended, to let the dodging come naturally as his curcuits adjust to the precise, flowing nature of the dance. Redshift transforms into his sleek spacecraft mode and takes to the air. Impudent Fool Backfire says, "Skydancer, you dealt with two of them before?" Fleet coughs. "For as long as it took me to figure out an escape route, perhaps." Impudent Fool Backfire says, "Well, *AHEM* I've only beaten that big boat one before. He fled before my destructive fury!!" Fleet says, "Very nice. Make sure to remind them of that next time you run into one." Impudent Fool Backfire says, "Of course, for the EMPIRE!!" Much later... "And now, Redshift, it's time you learned a proper landing. Follow." And with that, still in jet mode, he points his nose... up? And guns it, roaring higher into the sky. Wait, isn't this supposed to be a landing? F-35B "Lightning II" notes, perhaps helpfully, perhaps not, "I find not thinking helps a lot." Catechism is /good/ at not thinking. It is situations where she has to think and remember that give her trouble, though she can do it if she has to. She soars after Fleet, just off to left and down relatively to him slightly, so that the whole formation should make a mighty V stabbing the sky. Oh, that was Fleet flying up when he was talking about landings, by the way. Red Spacecraft takes the right-most position (starboard?) as he joins Fleet's formation, applying sufficient thruster power to keep up with Fleet as the Seeker rockets skyward. Redshift doesn't ask where it is exactly that they're going, in keeping with the 'act, don't think' policy that seens to govern Fleet's lessons thus far, he just tries to keep place and maintain formation. If they do crash somewhere, at least he'll have the satisfaction of seeing Fleet crash into it first. Once Fleet's climbed to sufficient altitude, he turns *directly* up, climbs a little further... and stalls out. His nose turns and he tumbles sideways, though it's not so uncontrolled as it looks at first, and once his nose is faced directly downards, it stays there as he falls, letting gravity do its work. Red Spacecraft lets out some choice curses as Fleet intentionally stalls out, and cuts his own engines to follow suit, angling first directly skyward, then gracefully folding over to one side until his own nose also points durectly down towards Cybertron's jagged surface. "You're going to get us killed!" He snaps as they glide dowards towards the razor hills below. F-35B "Lightning II" continues this semi-suicidal lawn dart impression spree, also stalling out in a hammer head and then zooming back down. Jf they have similar cross-sectional area, they'll all fall at the same rate, so Fleet will be splatting out first, but Catechism's not pulling up, so maybe she has a little... faith? in Fleet? Red Spacecraft has no faith. Just a reinforced nosecone built for ramming things. "You, maybe," Fleet replies calmly as he continues to fall downwards. "I've done this before. It's all in the timing. The object is to get it at the last possible moment, but if you'd rather pull up early, go for it." All this is said rather casually during the plummet. F-35B "Lightning II" has actually done this before, also, and at one point, she did it with some of her control surfaces duct-taped into unusability. Falling, she heckles, "Yeah, you can pull up early - like an AERIALBOT." Worst cheerleader ever? Just maybe. Red Spacecraft has done worse than crash head-first into a hill(even a razor-sharp one) and if he can survive being shot by Galvatron, among all the other injuries and maimings and beheadings he's recieved, he can survive one more crash. "Do your worst!" He replies, not so on-chalantly. "I'd rather do my best," Fleet replies mildly as the ground rushes up towards them. And then he transforms. Fleet pulls his knees into his chest and for a moment tumbles in the air, falling downward in a little ball with wings, until he straightens once more, this time feet facing downward. Once this happens, he turns on the thrustors on his bootjets to their highest setting, relying entirely on them to slow his fall rather than supplementing with antigravs. Tetrajet transforms into his Fleet mode. F-35B "Lightning II" is not duct taped up today, thankfully. A split-second, less, after Fleet, she also transforms, tucks into a ball, and also light the candle that is her boot jets. Purists would call her a cheater, because her engine cranks out much more screaming thrust than a standard Seeker engine, but this isn't Purist, is it? She smirks, for some reason. XF-35B Astral Lightning transforms into robot form. Catechism's feet unfold, her arms unfold out of her body, her nosecone rotates through her body and ends up on her shoulders to expose her face, and her wings rotate into position. Red Spacecraft finally knows what Fleet has been up to, and as the ground looms larger as his proximity warnings light up his HUD like a Christmas tree, Redshift transforms into his own robot mode. He isn't sure if Fleet knew he had bootjet-thursters or NOT, but it's a good things the small spacer has propulsion power in /spades/, as he thrusts his legs down hard, firing his spacejets at thier full power to overcome the terminal velocity of his uncontrolled freefall. He touches down a moment later, and then quickly leaps back, his feet sizzling after contacting the surface of the planet- Which has been cooked to a ruddy orange glowing patch of nearly-molten metal. He doesn't know if that counts as being hit or not. The sleek red spacecraft transforms into the winged warrior Redshift. Combat: Your COMBAT flag has been cleared. Well, Fleet doesn't fire at Redshift, so he's probably safe. As for Fleet himself, he actually slows until he's balancing carefully on those jets just /above/ the ground for a moment, then cuts them off and kicks back, landing lightly on a razor's edge just behind the spot he'd heated and balancing there. He studies Redshift for a moment and rubs his chin. "Hmm." Catechism isn't really as graceful in her baancing above the ground as Fleet is, though she manages it. She manages not to laugh at Redshift burning himself, but she does have to cover her mouth to keep from giggling. Redshift grumbles under his breath a bit about Fleet's teaching approach, as he gingerly steps from one half-melted foot to the next. "You never said to blast my thrusters /without/ landing!" Of course, Fleet never actually said /anything/, so this is painfully obvious. Catechism points out, still smirking, "Well, buddy, you didn't exactly ask, now did you? C'mon, Fleet can't spoon-feed you your energon like a virused-up factory fresh." She holds up her empty hands, shrugging. "I won't /say/ a lot of things. If you could learn this from a lecture, you wouldn't be here." Then Fleet leaps into the air. "All right. Once more, from the top." And then he transforms and takes off. Redshift grumbles some more, and then quickly transforms Fleet and joins him in the air, ready to start it all over again; A little more worse for wear, but prepared to learn from his mistakes and avoid the pitfalls he made the first time.